The Sandbox

Proverbs 3:13 says, “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.” 

A visit to the beach is one of those quintessential childhood joys. The fun seaside pastime filled with splashing, swimming, sunning, picnicking, and sandcastle building. While I loved it as a child, it took on greater depth of meaning as a parent. I have great memories of the family making our way to the beach, and in particular seeing my children stalking their way through the sand with a towel over one shoulder, and their arms hugging the awkwardly stacked bundle of plastic mini rakes, goggles, trowels, shovels and various castle making buckets. It seemed that our hours of fun were found designing and building castles that were ‘the tallest ever’, or the ‘strongest ever’ castle.

As a parent looking on, it was intriguing to watch the kids as they learnt and developed their strategies to build towering castles, motes, outer walls, and the ornate drawbridges made from beach sourced bric-a-brac. At the end of the day, there was usually a poignant moment as the kids would have to walk away from their days work knowing it may not be there when we would come back. 

I have never really revisited these moments as anything more than just a great family past-time, but thinking on it now, I see some really great learnings has taken place for my kids, using the most impermanent of structures – sandcastles. The sandy beaches have been a safe and fun environment where our kids have learnt to make things using what is available, and develop an understanding of how to problem-solve using innovative and creative ideas. And, because not each attempt was a success, they developed the grit and resilience needed to overcome obstacles. All this with sandcastles!

Now, while it may be a bit of a reach to liken schooling to a ‘sun-soaked-sandy-beach’. At Avondale School, it is important to us that we provide each student a fun and safe learning environment. Our students have access to great teachers and open spaces where they can learn and grow with confidence. Across each campus, our teachers provide meaningful learning experiences where students can ask questions, have fun, be challenged, and discover. In this way, the classroom can be like a ‘sandbox’, where students can try ideas out, think in innovative and creative ways, and build confidence in their skills, ready to meet the next challenge.

If I were thinking back to my children’s mastery of sandcastles, each castle was a masterpiece that took a good amount of time, and we celebrated each step of the way. Thinking about school, we could say that education is not an event, it’s a journey that takes time. And, if we have got the learning process right, we will find that it takes a good amount of 'sticking with it' and a fair bit of ‘grit’. I’m going to suggest that it is a great opportunity to take a moment and look back, celebrate our children, their mastery, and the learning milestones they have achieved. 

Blessings

Mr Gary Marsters

Assistant Head of Secondary